Firefly
by I.Am.Molly
Summary: I have no idea how to summarise this. Its a songfic, inspired by the wonderful workings of Ed Sheeran. It's very much L/P centred and each chapter is separate, only joined by the song. Oh and it is incredibly fluffy.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is based around the lyrics of Ed Sheerans song Firefly. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I own neither the song nor the characters. Sad face :(**

* * *

_I fell in love next to you_

_Burning fires in this room_

_It just fits, light and smooth_

_Like my feet in my shoes_

_Little one, lie with me_

_Sew your heart to my sleeve_

_We'll stay quiet underneath _

_shooting stars, if it helps you sleep._

_And hold me tight, don't let me breathe_

_Feeling like you won't believe_

* * *

That was the moment it happened, he remembered. It was the moment he realized that what he had felt for her before had been only lust, because what he felt for her at that moment was much, much more than that. Infatuation was what he had felt the first time he saw her and he lusted after her every day after that, but it didn't take long for his feelings for her to grow.

He remembered the first time she had held him. Her body pressed tight against his. It was an innocent hug that only lasted for a few seconds, but the sparks flew the moment their bodies touched and to this day they still hadn't left.

The first kiss, he remembered, brought more than sparks. It brought a whole new breed of electricity, it brought fireworks. They shot up in the air the moment her lips touched his and exploded when their tongues met and caressed together. And with every kiss ever since, those fireworks still came, becoming louder and more powerful as time went on and their feelings for one another continued to grow.

The first time they made love however, had been awkward. It was the big step between them being friends and becoming much more and there had been so much pressure for them to get it right that it got the better of them, but they persisted. They fought past the awkwardness and thankfully it didn't take long for their passion for one another to show in the bedroom, and that passion turned those sparks, and those fireworks, into raging fires. Those fires burned all around them as they showed each other how much they cared for one another, in the most special and intimate way possible.

He remembered the moment he fell in love with her. He remembered looking over at this beautiful, goddess of a woman, and realizing what he felt for her was more than infatuation and lust. He knew then, that the fires they had burned together had charred his heart, scarring him and she would forever be a part of him.

It was meant to be. She fit him perfectly, completing him. Others said that they were two completely different people, and they would never last. They said that a genius like himself, who spent his work day figuring out the inner workings of the universe, should never be paired with a simple waitress like her, who spent her work days bringing out food and making drinks at a bar, but those people just didn't understand.

She was different to him, that was for sure, but that was what he loved. He had been with women who were much similar to him in the past. He had dated scientists and doctors and lawyers. Women who other people would say were more suited to him. They would say it would work out because he had more in common with those women, but it never worked out, because none of those women were her.

No, she wasn't the smartest, and she wasn't the most successful. She didn't understand what he did for a living and had very little, to no real interest in it, but she taught him things, things that no other woman had, and he taught her things too. She taught him about the world outside of his nerdy little bubble. She showed him a life he never really knew existed. She took him to trendy bars, taught him about music and most importantly, she taught him about love. She took him from his extra-ordinary world, and showed him what was ordinary.

He took her to lectures that she didn't understand, and to see informative documentaries at the cinema. He showed her around his lab and explained to her, as best as he could, what he done on a daily basis. He taught her about all the geeky stuff he loved and he taught her about love itself. He took her from her ordinary world, and showed her what was extra-ordinary.

They were two completely different people, who had come together to show one another the other side of life, in a way no one else could have. They completed each other. What he lacked, she had in abundance and what she lacked, he had more than enough of. Separate, they were only halves, but together, they were complete. He was the bare foot, and she was the shoe that covered him and made him whole.

He remembered the moment she first told him she loved him. Not the time when she had said it in the heat of the moment, but the moment when she meant to say it, and meant what she said. It happened a few days after her outburst, which neither of them had mentioned. She had put her guard up after she had said those words because she was scared, even though she would pretend that she wasn't. She would show everyone around her that she was a tough woman, a lioness, but deep down inside, she was nothing more than a fragile kitten that was scared of the world that existed around her. Very few people saw that side of her, but he was one of the few. He saw that little kitten that existed deep inside her being, the kitten that would run, sprint, and gallop away if he made too much noise. So he stayed quiet. He never asked her about what she had said even though every fibre of his being needed the re-assurance that she had meant it.

Those few days passed and he remembered lying on the sofa, watching television when she came in. She had been tired and stressed from work and he told her to lie down beside him. He remembered how she smiled and immediately lay with him, fitting against his body, bringing out those sparks again. She lay almost on top of him, with her head on his chest. He remembered every movement and every touch like it had only just happened. He remembered how she sat up slightly, placed a hand on his jaw and turned his eyes away from the adventures of Dr. Who and on to her. At that moment he thought she was going to kiss him and ignite those fireworks, but she didn't. She did something better. She just looked into his eyes as she gently stoked his cheek with her thumb and said those three magic words. She spoke in a whisper, gentle and timid, but it didn't matter. He heard those words like they had been shouted at him through a megaphone and they echoed throughout the room. She said nothing after those words. She just looked into his eyes as hers began to swim in water. Those big, beautiful green irises said all the other words that needed to be said. They showed him how much he meant to her, as she finally let that little kitten out, and in that moment, she had not only worn her own heart on her sleeve, but she had sewn it to his. She had given her heart to him in the hope that he would keep it, protect it and keep it safe from ever being hurt again, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

She blew his mind, she really did, but every now and then, he would do something that would blow hers. He wasn't the most romantic man that ever lived, but he knew how to make her smile. He knew what to do to make her feel like she was the only woman that ever existed. He hated to see her sad, upset or in pain and he would always do anything to make her feel better, no matter what it was. She was a special woman, and she deserved to be treated as such.

He remembered one night when she was restless. She tossed and she turned, and she groaned and she moaned, as she tried her best to get comfortable. She had put her arms around him and snuggled into his chest and he thought she was falling asleep, until she groaned again and turned over. He tried to sooth her, turning in his sleep to put a hand to her shoulder and gently massage her back. It usually worked, but not this time. She turned back to him and whined, "Leonard, I can't sleep." He opened his eyes to her and saw the pain in her face. She was frowning and her bottom lip was sticking out a little. Her eyes were tired and full of sadness. She couldn't sleep and there was usually a simple solution to this. It was usually the reason she would have woken him up, but not this time, because this time the very thing that was giving her pain and keeping her awake, was the very thing that stopped him from putting her to sleep the way he normally would. Mother Nature really could be a bitch at times, but he wasn't fazed, he was no 'one trick pony' and he had the perfect solution to ease her pain.

He stroked her hair and flashed her a smile, before getting up and grabbing all the sheets and cushions that he could find. She questioned him, but he told her to help him without giving a reason as to why. So that's what she did, she helped him collect all the covers and cushions they could find around the apartment and headed into the hallway and he led her up to the roof. It was a clear, warm summer's night, there was barely a chill in the air and it was perfect. He laid a sheet on the floor and then a bunch of cushions on top it, which they lay on top of. He remembered how she laughed and told him he was crazy and had the weirdest ideas, but then she lay down with him, putting the remainder of the sheets around the both of them. He held her tight to him as he pointed to the stars, showing her all the different constellations as she listened to his words intently. He laughed when she got excited because she thought she saw a shooting star, which he informed her was actually an airplane. A few moments later she done it again, pointing to the sky claiming she saw a shooting star and he was prepared to tell her it wasn't, until he saw it too. One, then another, and then another, flew across the sky, making Penny gasp in awe each time. "Make a wish." She had said, but he shook his head and told her no. He told her he didn't have to, because he already had more than he could ever have wished for.

They lay awake on the roof, looking up at the stars in their make-shift bed. It wasn't the most comfortable, it was hard and lumpy, but she seemed happy as she snuggled in beside him and played with the curls on the back of his neck, and before long, she was sleeping soundly beside him. He was content, happy in the thought he had once again succeeded in making her feel better and helping her get to sleep.

* * *

_There's a firefly, loose tonight_

_Better catch it before it burns this place down_

_And I lie if I, don't feel so right_

_But the world looks better, through your eyes_

* * *

And here he lay now, with the woman he had shared all of those experiences with. The woman who made him feel like he was ten feet tall, the woman who made his heart leap out from his chest. The woman who made him smile, who made him laugh, and made him shiver at her very touch. The woman who made him happy, and the woman he loved. She lay with her arm wrapped tightly around him. He could barely breathe, but not because of how tight she was holding on to him. He struggled to breathe simply because she took his breath away. Her beauty and her touch against his skin, her heart beating against his and her leg as it entangled with his own, everything she done as she lay asleep beside him, took his breath away. It was a feeling he never really understood, or could ever really explain to her, and even if he could, she probably wouldn't believe it.

They had been together for so long, but those sparks hadn't faded. Those fireworks still went off, and those fires still burned brightly. Even as they slept now, little fireflies flew all around them. They were doing nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. They were just lying together in the same way they always did, stuck together like glue as those small burning flies danced around them, holding inside them everything they felt for one another, all their love and all their passion. It didn't take much for those little flies to catch fire. It could be something as simple as an accidental touch to the skin, or as purposeful as an unconscious grope, but whatever it was, it would wake them up to each other. They would lie there, millimetres from one another, with those undefeatable fires burning all around them, threatening to set them alight.

Everything was right. It was as it should be and always would be. Nothing would, or could tear them apart, they were too strong. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with, a fire that could not be put out. They were each other's and always would be. People would say that there was no way he could know this, that anything could happen in the future that could rip them away from each other, but those people were wrong. As he lay there, looking into her twinkling eyes that were full of her love for him, he knew that they would be together forever, because that's what they told him. No matter what went wrong in the future, no matter what hurdles they had to jump, he knew they would survive, because those eyes don't lie.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is based off the second half of the song and is unrelated to the first chapter. It is written about Penny, and it will help to know it is set before she said I love you to Leonard.**

**Still don't own the song of the characters. Balls.**

* * *

_Teach my skin, those new tricks_

_Warm me up, with your lips_

_Heart to heart, melt me down_

_It's too cold, in this town_

_Close your eyes, lean on me_

_Face to mouth, lips to cheek_

_Feeling numb, in my feet_

_You're the one, to help me get to sleep_

* * *

Penny lay there and thought about Leonard. She thought about his smile, his laugh, his touch… _His touch_… His touch was something special. It was so different to anything she had ever experienced before. There was no point in lying, she had been around the block. She had been with her share, and probably a few other peoples share of men. Some people would say she was promiscuous, but she would say she was young, and just having fun. Yet, even with all those men she had been with, none of them had made her feel like he does. None of them had given her even a percentage of what he gave to her. She wasn't used to it, to men being so attentive, so fixated on making her feel good, and so passionate about her. When he touched her, with those soft, wonderful hands, she would shudder, every single time. Her skin just wasn't used to it, her body and her mind weren't either. He lit her up inside, in a way she never knew was possible. She never would have thought when she moved in all those years ago, that this little guy could make her feel so good, could make her body tremble and her knees weak. He didn't seem the type, but he certainly was.

She had noticed it for the first time, when he would touch her accidently. When he would brush past her, or sit so close to her that their knees touched together. Skin never touched skin, but it didn't need to, it still gave her chills. Chills she wouldn't acknowledge, because she had thought he wasn't her type. He wasn't tall, muscular and confident like the guys she was usually attracted to, but she found herself craving those touches, however brief and however slight. She would sit beside him, hug him, and kiss him on the cheek, just to get those little chills back. Those little chills grew though, becoming waves of electricity that ran throughout her body, waves that she could no longer deny. He wasn't like those other guys, but maybe that was a good thing.

She thought about his kiss. His lips on her lips, on her neck, on her stomach and everywhere else. Just thinking about it made her heart beat that little bit faster and her cheeks become that little bit redder. He was so soft and so gentle, yet he could be so firm and so commanding. Every time those lips touched her skin, no matter where on her body it was or how hard or soft that kiss would be, a fire would build inside of her. That fire spread throughout her body and burned, hotter and more intense than any fire that had been there before.

She thought about those things now, as she lay, alone and cold in her bed.

It was always sunny in Pasadena. It rarely rained, and even at night, it was never really cold. It was one of the reasons she loved it here. Sometimes though, the nights _were_ cold. Those were the nights when he wouldn't stay over, whether it was because they had had a fight and were both being stubborn, or because she had to work late and didn't want to disturb him when she came home. Those nights were the worst. It was weird, because she had slept alone in that apartment many times before, but somehow, after having the experience of him sleeping beside her, holding her as they slept, she could no longer be without it. It could be the height of summertime, when the days were scorching hot and the nights were warm and humid, but it made no difference, because if he wasn't there beside her, she would feel cold.

It was that moment, when she lay there craving his presence beside her, that she realized just how deep her feelings for him went. It was then that she realized she had fallen for him. There was no way she could deny it anymore. He had gotten into her heart and now, without the soothing sounds of his heart beating next to hers, she found herself unable to sleep. She would toss and turn, unable to get comfortable in the place where she would always say she felt more comfortable in than anywhere else. Her bed had always been her favourite place to be, she could lie in it for a whole day and feel like it had been a day well spent, but now? Now it was the equivalent to spending a night on a pebbled floor, because he wasn't lying beside her. She wondered how she had done it for all those months after they had broken up, but the answer to that one was simple; Alcohol, and plenty of one night stands. They had replaced him and become the things that would help her sleep on those cold nights, but it wasn't the same, they didn't give her the warm feeling inside that he gave to her. It infuriated her that someone could have this much power and control over her, even if he didn't realize he had it. It annoyed her that something as simple as not having him beside her, kept her awake for most of the night. And it terrified her, because she didn't even know she could feel this way about someone. She didn't know this kind of love existed.

She lay there wondering if he was awake too and as she looked at her phone, she contemplated texting him to come over and stay the night with her, but she never sent that text, telling herself she didn't want to wake him up if he was asleep. That wasn't the real reason though, she couldn't text him, or head over to his place and stay, because she knew if she did, she would be admitting to herself, and to him, that she couldn't bear to be in her own bed without him. So she would stay in her cold bed and she would drift in and out of sleep as she let her pride get the better of her. She couldn't let him know she loved him, and was now dependant on him. She couldn't let him know the power he had over her, not yet, she wasn't ready.

She lay there and imagined him. She imagined that he was there beside her, in the hope it would help her sleep. She imagined his head resting against hers as he drifted off, his lips grazing her cheek as she lay as close as she could beside him. It was such a simple thing, so minor and almost insignificant, but she had felt that touch on her cheek so deeply, that when she imagined it now, it almost felt real. She could almost feel his breath on her face, his forehead on hers, his hand on her waist and his legs intertwined with her own. But the problem with that was that when she opened her eyes, and saw the huge empty space beside her, she was hit, square in the face, with disappointment.

She hated being this cold. She hated it when her body would shiver and her fingers and feet felt numb, so she would fight it. She lay there, in her bed, layered up like an onion in a desperate bid to fight the coldness that surrounded her, but she never won. His absence overpowered those layers, rendering them useless. She became weak, unable to fight it anymore. She needed to sleep and the one who would help her wasn't far away. He was only across the hall and with him was all the heat she needed, all the warmth and all the comfort. She could no longer deny the feelings he gave to her and she hated to admit it, but she needed him, more than she had ever needed anyone, and there was very little she could do about it. No, there was nothing she could do about it. He had found his way into her mind and into her heart, and he wasn't leaving. So she gave in. She _finally_ gave in to the voice that begged her to go over and see him, and ignored the one that told her that she was stronger than this and she didn't need him that much, because that voice was a liar.

* * *

_There's a firefly, loose tonight_

_Better catch it before it burns this place down_

_And I lie If I, don't feel so right_

_But the world looks better, through your eyes_

* * *

She let go of her pride as she got up from her pebbled mattress, let herself into his apartment and crept, as quietly as she could, over to his room. She opened the door and saw him, nothing but a bundle under the covers, and smiled. There he was; the one that would warm up her shivering body, the one that would hold her and gently caress her as she drifted off into a happy and peaceful sleep. She slid in beside him, tucking her knees under his, wrapping her arm over his stomach and nuzzling her nose into the back of his neck and she breathed a sigh of relief as her whole body began to warm up against his skin.

She felt him stir as her body touched him and he turned around to face her. He didn't open his eyes to her though, he was still asleep. He didn't show her those sweet, chocolate holes that were perched beautifully on his face. She was disappointed, wanting nothing more than to see them staring back at her, but she was glad. Relieved that she didn't have to explain to those questioning eyes why she was there.

She shuffled closer, touching her nose against his, giving her all those warm feelings that she had craved. She held her breath, determined to stay as quiet as possible so she didn't wake him, but seeing him there in front of her, his warm body inches from hers made her chest heave. She couldn't understand how this man could make her feel this way when he wasn't even conscious. He was simply laying there peacefully beside her, yet she yearned for him. She wondered how on earth she would ever possibly be able to explain to him how he made her feel, how his touch gave her chills and his kiss lit her up. How was she going to make him understand how much he meant to her, how much she needed him and how much she loved him, when she barely understood it herself? But it was okay, because for now at least, he was asleep and she wouldn't have to explain it.

She kissed him lightly on the lips, and placed her hand on his side, getting ready to finally settle down and get some sleep, when his eyes slowly opened. She felt bad for a second, but seeing his gorgeous eyes, inches from hers, took her guilt away. She smiled at him as he looked at her with a glimmer of confusion on his face, probably wondering why she was there and when she had arrived. "I couldn't sleep." She told him in a whisper, but her eyes said more. Her eyes told him she wanted him, she needed him, she couldn't be without him and that she loved him. Her eyes told him the words that her mouth wouldn't let her speak, and she hoped he heard them. She wanted to tell him properly, but she couldn't. She kept those words inside, burning around her body, little fireflies that she couldn't let loose, because if she did that little fly would ignite a fire, a fire that she wouldn't be able to control.

She hated that she couldn't find the courage inside of her to tell him. She had been hurt before after saying those words and she was terrified that it would happen again. If only she had met him first. If only he had been the one to show her the wonderful world of love before the others. Before those heartless men took her heart and her innocence and squashed it and tore it up, leaving it ruined. Leaving _her_ ruined and unable to give herself to him fully, like he deserved. Those men had forced her to put up a wall, a wall that she was determined to keep up, even as he chipped away at it.

Those eyes of his stayed on her as they lay there together. He still hadn't spoken a word, he just looked deep into her eyes and gently stroked her cheek. He didn't ask her why she was there, he just accepted it. She wondered if he knew everything that she was feeling inside, if those eyes that were burning a hole through her soul knew how much she loved him. He couldn't know, how could he when she barely even knew it herself? Yet those eyes, that stayed focused on her convinced her that he knew. They told her that he knew her better than she knew herself, and they would wait for her. They would wait for her to be ready to tell him out loud how she felt.

The words inside of her bubbled up, and her eyes watered, those words needing a release that her mouth wouldn't give them. His eyes became worried and concerned, confused at why she was suddenly tearing up. He deserved to know, he really did, but those god damn walls of hers wouldn't collapse, so the words stayed choked in her throat. She cursed herself as she kept her eyes from weeping. Hating herself for not having the courage to tell him. For not pouring her heart out to him, like she should. So she kissed him. She stared deep into his eyes, and then kissed him again. Determined to show him how much she loved him in the only way she knew how. She stroked her hand up and down against his side, then pulled him tightly against her, as her body that just moments ago was freezing in bed, began to burn up. And she showed him how much she loved him, not with words, but with her body. She made love to him, and as they lay, in the wake of ecstasy, she promised herself she would tell him properly. She would stop lying to herself, and she would tell those eyes about everything she felt inside. Not tonight, not tomorrow, but one day. Soon.


End file.
